Plastic Body

The content of this wiki page refers to the Exceed Hyper Speed Nitro RC Buggy.

Current Design

Figure 1 - The component as it currently exists

The body shell of this car is made of very thin, vacuum-formed plastic that is then die-cut to remove excess plastic and cut a hole for the engine to go through. While the body does a moderate job at protecting the internals from the elements, it is too thin to protect the car from impacts. If the car were to roll over onto a sharp rock or something were to be dropped on the car, the body will not protect the sensitive parts underneath it. While the body itself is relatively inexpensive to replace, the internal components are much more expensive.

Possible Redesigns

One possible design change is to change the thickness of the plastic. This would provide the shell with more stability at a small increase in cost of production. The same production equipment could be used, all that would have to change it the thickness of the original plastic sheet being vacuum-formed. This would cause a negligible change in the cost to the consumer incase it needed to be replaced. Weight would also be negligibly affected.

Another alternative is to add another layer of protection. A layer of fiberglass or a thin wire mesh could be could be applied to the plastic shell to increase the strength. In the case of the wire mesh, the mesh could be stamped into the shape of the cars body and glued to the frame. Fiberglass and resin could be applied in a thin layer as well to provide the same effect. Weight would only increase slightly and in both cases, the same die cutting machine could be used for the holes, as long as the blades are capable of cutting the material used. The production cost would only increase slightly causing a small increase in cost to the consumer. However, with a stronger shell, the user should have to replace their shell less often.

Both ways to redesign this component would have a small economic impact on the manufacturing process, and therefore no large price would have to be passed on to the consumer or lost by the company. Increasing the thickness would not change the environmental impact of the product because both the existing shell and replacement shell could be recycled at the end of their life cycles.